High Level

Back to (remote) work!

Monday morning, the workweek started off with a bang. In order to demoralize employees more effectively, a two and a half hour long meeting is being held for three weeks in a row. I got back to work just in time to experience the second one. In this meeting I and fourteen others learned how to be decent human beings since apparently that’s something we haven’t quite learned to do yet.

I could go on, but I see just a modicum of logic in the training, so I guess I’ll stop with that line of thought. It was a particularly exhausting meeting to start my work week off with, since it started at 7:30 MDT, and to make matters worse, required me to actually participate. But wait, it gets even better! I also had to turn my video camera on. Although that’s stretching the truth of “had to.” It’s not like I was being held at gunpoint. So yes, it was a good way to properly start the week.

I enjoyed my week off in the Grande Prairie area. I met some new friends, some old friends, and had some good conversations with both classifications. Overall, it was a positive experience which allowed me to recharge and find some new inspiration for my day job. One of the things I learned last week is that one does not need to have everything in order on day one. This was somewhat of a stressor for me before I got to Crooked Creek. Once I saw how things were being done, I realized that I was worrying a bit too much and just needed to relax. This, all things considered, was a good thing. Maybe I’m being a bit too honest for my own good.

Another thing that I learned was that the 7th and 8th grade boys in that area love hockey. One of the first questions they asked me was if I liked hockey. Then they asked me if I liked the Kings or the Knights. “Is that sportsball?” I asked. “No, those are the hockey teams for Los Angeles and Los Vegas.”¹

The Italian cream sodas were a success, I think. Whether any of the other teaching was a success, I’m not sure.

Fast forward to Sunday, I woke up and I made a decision that I should skip church since I had to get to Fort Vermilion that day, and also had to pick up my expense reimbursements. I had a fairly leisurely morning during which I had breakfast and a coffee, and then breakfast and another coffee. I also bonded with friends again and was maybe a bit too honest for my own good. This is something that happens frequently.

One of my new friends informed me that the road between Crooked Creek and the town of Fort Vermilion was an awful one that he hated and that it would stretch on forever. I told him that he was crazy and that I didn’t believe a word of it. No, I didn’t actually quite say it like that, but I did say at the time that I was looking forward to the drive. I left Crooked Creek in good time to make it to Mackenzie County in good time for social plans in the evening—just like you would expect from a good Mennonite. Although a better Mennonite would have found a way to do all the social plans, and go to church too. Anyway, I turned northward in the town of Valleyview, which is pronounced Val-uh-view by the locals for some reason.

The road between Val-uh-view and Peace River is given the highway designation AB-2, and, let me just say that it’s got to be busier than the four lane highway running between Edmonton and Grande Prairie. This road is where I discovered that people from Alberta do not have many inhibitions about passing other people. For example, whenever there was a left lane, which was pretty much 100% of the time, they used it judiciously to overtake slower vehicles such as tanker trucks and grandmothers’ Buicks.

Peace River, not to be confused with the Peace River, is nestled in the river valley of the Peace River. Peace River has a Walmart, a Tim Horton’s, and a Canadian Tire, among other stores. I walked into Tim Horton’s and I heard someone order a large Double Double. “Ah,” I thought to myself, “I betcha that’s the quintessential Canadian drink, eh?” After asking the man if it was the classic Canada drink, I decided I would have to try one oat myself. Let me just say, a Double Double is the perfect amount of sweet and the perfect amount of dairy for a Tim Horton’s coffee. Also, and this really astounds me, the large Double Double cost only $2.40CAD. For reference, a small coffee with half-and-half at my local restaurant in Willows costs $7.04CAD.

Soon, I left Peace River, and headed north. I stopped in Manning for one of those very important breaks that has to happen post-large Double Double. I also purchased a Cadbury Crunchie Chocolate bar that was 90 grams in weight. After eating the chocolate bar, I discovered that instead of it being 210 calories like the package said, the whole thing packed a hefty 500 calories, which is my calorie budget for a nice, hearty lunch.

Once I got oat of Manning a ways, I began to understand what my Crooked Creek friend was talking aboat. There was some beautiful coniferous forest to enjoy, but the last half hour of the road to High Level was punctuated only by a sign stating that the Thompkins Landing ferry was open and that the ice bridge was [ ].

I am exaggerating slightly about how bad the road into High Level is, but the road between Fort Vermilion and High Level is actually quite dull. It takes advantage of the natural terrain of prairies and never deviates from its course which is a perfectly reasonable east/west path. Believe me, I have been on that road three times now in the last week, and I can understand why my friend, my fellow Stanza executive, has full self driving for his Tesla.

My fellow Stanza executive and I have been enjoying the opportunity to have daily High Level meetings, and it is my firm belief that with the roadmap that has been laid down, we can more effectively effect our operational excellence and strive for better KPIs. As you know, your feedback is important to us.²

1. This is a paraphrasing of the actual conversation. If ability to recall a conversation verbatim was a school subject I would have gotten an F every year.

2. This statement has not been evaluated by Stanza. This blog post is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent anything.